Bourne WHAT?

"Targeted memory erasure is no longer limited to the realm of science fiction. A new study describes a method through which a selected set of memories can be rapidly and specifically erased from the mouse brain in a controlled and inducible manner. New and old memories have been selectively and safely removed from mice by scientists."

Ahhh...but ask Jason Bourne! He's "known" for years now what scientists are now just claiming to be able to do!

And then "Ahnold" could also jump in with his experience in "Total Recall" and how they not only erased his memory, but then fabricated an entire life for him...all with the touch of a button...on Mars!

Thank you, William Shatner, for all the Trekiness that has found its way into reality!

(I still remember the old style communicators...now cell phones. Uhura's "headset"...bluetooth. Phasers...lasers. Computers that talked to you...AI. And, just recently...the holodeck, also known as REAL-D, 3-D interactive cinema. Man...who thought that this stuff would actually be here? Now...where the hell is my hovercraft and jetpack I was promised back in my Spiderman comics in the 70's????)

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I've got a few memories that I wish I didn't have... but I don't think I want them erased either. They make me who I am today (irritable, argumentative, irrational....).
I have heard of some children who were severely abused that may benefit from a little erasing.
But if you could, would you erase any of your memories?

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

I'm totally with you MR. And, again...like J.T. Kirk who pretty much said the same thing when having the offer to take his "pain" away.

My memories, good and bad, helped shape the man I am today. Sure, there are bad ones, as I'm sure everyone has. But, as painful as they WERE, again, it's in the past and helps me shape my future. They're responsible for the way I deal with people and everyday events. My humor. My stories. My uber nerdiness. My memories are ME, and I wouldn't change for the world (ok...MAYBE the world, but nothing short of that!).

I am sure that those who were severely abused (physically, sexually and emotionally) would like to take some of those away, and for good reason. But me? I look at the trauma I went through as being "tests" and tests that I've passed since I am STILL here. Past heartaches, failures, let downs, pain...all of those, to some extent, are with me, some of them faint, some still at the front. But all those experiences made me who I am.

Now, erasing certain EMOTIONS...that would be something I think I would consider. I am FAR too uptight at times for my, and others', own good!

I try to pride myself in thinking WAY outside the box, but I honestly have to admit, THAT idea didn't even cross my mind.

On one hand, it would be a truly unethical experiment.

On the other...WHAT IF?

I often sit and think, "What makes us who we are?" Thus my love for learning and science especially. I like knowing the why's of things. I understand genetics are responsible for many things in people's lives, but the nature v nurture realm of thought really gets my curiosity working overtime. How far, exactly, DO genes control who we are? And how much is the result of our environment? These were the questions we talked about endlessly in psych and philosophy classes back in college.

But to truly erase every memory in an adult's mind, and then set them "loose" so to speak...what WOULD they be like?

Damn good idea for a book or movie!! I think you should market that as soon as possible!